Increases in the frequency of vehicle theft, in particular, automobiles and trucks, have led to higher insurance premiums and the development of a number of devices and systems designed to deter vehicle theft.
Various automobile anti-theft and security systems used in the past including devices with audible alarms or sirens that are triggered when an attempt is made to enter or start the vehicle without disarming the system. These systems malfunction frequently and are thus generally ineffective as they malfunction frequently giving a false alarm that may be confused with an actual attempt to steal the vehicle.
Other device systems have been designed to disable a vehicle in order to prevent its theft. Such devices and systems have not proven totally satisfactory for a number of reasons. In some cases, the disabling device can be overcome by "hot wiring" the ignition or by using an external power source to start the vehicle. In other cases, the anti-theft device or system is expensive and complicated or requires the user of the system to access the engine compartment of the vehicle to operate the system or device. Thus there is a need for an effective, economical vehicle anti-theft device that is convenient to use and which overcomes the limitations of prior art devices.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,773,138, issued Nov. 20, 1973 to Killmeyer; U.S. Pat. No. 4,653,605 issued Mar. 31, 1987 to Goren, et. al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,739,736 issued Apr. 26, 1988 to Branco; U.S. Pat. No. 4,832,146 issued May 23, 1989 to Luby; U.S. Pat. No. 4,958,084 issued Sep. 18, 1990 to Carlo, et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,987,406 issued Jan. 22, 1991 to Reid; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,992,670 issued Feb. 12, 1991 to Pastor, all of which are incorporated herein by reference. None of the foregoing references however disclose the unique vehicle anti-theft device of the present invention.
Remote control devices are well known in the art and are currently used to operate garage door openers, television sets, video recorders and other devices. Such devices typically utilize a hand held transmitter that transmits an encoded radio frequency or infrared signal to a receiver that includes a decoder and a power source for actuating a device such as a garage door opener. These transmitters typically have a limited range and thus must be in close proximity to the receiver in order to actuate the device. The present invention relates to the use of such a remote control device as part of a unique tamper resistant vehicle anti-theft system that effectively disables a vehicle to deter theft of the vehicle.